Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill and offer my support to it. I thank the Minister of State for being present to hear what my colleagues and I have to say. I will make some points on the Bill and then comment on some of the broader issues raised by Deputy O'Donovan.

Deputy Buttimer touched on some of these points earlier. I express puzzlement at the very low number of regulatory councils that have been established in recent years. Having read the background material on the Bill, I understand the overall body that was established to facilitate setting up regulatory councils was known as the Health and Social Care Professional Council, which was appointed in March 2007. Since then it appears that only two regulatory councils have been put in place - those for radiographers and social workers. Given the consensus in the House and elsewhere on the need for statutory regulation for all kinds of professions, I am puzzled that in five years that have elapsed since then more progress has not been made in setting up new panels and councils to regulate so many of the other professions that are important to the people we represent. While I accept the Bill will play a role in accelerating that, in the years since the initial body was put in place we have made virtually no progress in introducing the right kinds of councils and procedures for other professions that should be covered by this approach. I would welcome a prospective and response from the Minister as to why this has happened.

I wish to speak about the two councils that are in place. I understand that one of the reasons for introducing the Bill is the difficulty Minister has faced in putting in place new people and reappointing people to the councils that have already been established. In particular, I understand there has been a delay in appointments to the social workers' council. Why it was that the case? Was it because of a shortage of people willing to perform the roles? Was it because either the previous Government or this Government felt that the people who put themselves forward did not have the right skill sets to do the job? Why have we felt it necessary to make changes regarding how appointments are made to the existing councils? Why has there been difficulty filling those roles in the past? It appears that only two councils have been established since March 2007 and with those councils there have been delays and difficulties in appointing people to them. Given the focus on and support for statutory regulation of all councils, this is disappointing. I would welcome an answer as to what is driving those two developments.

Part 6 of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 deals with the determination of fitness to practise, the handling of complaints by the relevant council, etc. From my background reading on this Bill, it appears that Part 6 of that Act has not yet been commenced and I wish to understand why that is the case.

Will the new council which this Bill seeks to put in place play a greater role in terms of addressing issues raised in regard to the work and standards of care of health and social care professionals? This is an important point. The explanatory memorandum to the Bill sets out the procedure for the making of a complaint in regard to the work of a social worker. While I agree with Deputy Buttimer's remarks on the professionalism of our health care workers, regrettably things do not always work out as people would want and they find it necessary to make a complaint. A point made on one of the websites through which a person can make a complaint is that the complaints officer dealing with concerns in regard to social workers might also be the principal social worker for an area, which may give rise to concern on the part of the person wishing to make known his or her concerns in terms of whether the complaint will be dealt with in an impartial manner.

A constituent of mine raised with me this morning how he could best have his concern in regard to the handling of an important issue which he had raised addressed, without causing undue worry or difficulties with which he might have to deal in the future. I acknowledge that all of our social work professionals do the best job they can and that the vast majority meet and attain the standards required. However, as I stated earlier, occasionally those standards are not met. It is very important that there be clear guidelines in place in regard to how issues raised by people are to be responded to and dealt with. I would appreciate a response from the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, on the reason Part 6 of the 2005 Act has not been implemented and whether this Bill, when enacted, will play a role in its commencement.

I wish to raise with the Minister of State my concerns in regard to one of the professions that will come within the remit of this Bill. I am sure other Members have, like me, received representations in regard to the waiting lists for orthodontic and speech and language therapy assessments. I have with me some correspondence in terms of my dealings on this issue on behalf of constituents. While the professionals are doing their best they are finding it hard to deliver the standard of care they would wish to provide to the people in need of this service. One response from the Health Service Executive in regard to orthodontic treatment states: "I regret I cannot be more positive at this stage and wish to reiterate that all children are offered a treatment place as soon as one becomes available". Another letter from the Health Service Executive in regard to speech and language therapy services acknowledges the frustration caused by waiting times and states that all possible will be done to meet the needs of the constituent.

While I support all that is being done in terms of closing the gap between spending and taxation and what needs to be done to ensure we have in place the correct type of reform measures to ensure where possible front line services are protected, I would like to make two suggestions in that vein. The work of the special delivery unit in terms of its addressing the waiting lists for some form of care within our health service has worked and produced results. Perhaps a similar approach could be taken to addressing problems in this area of our health service. If the children waiting for this type of care do not get assessments now they will in the future face greater difficulties and the taxpayer will face greater costs, both of which we want to avoid.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, has signalled that at some point in the future he will consider selective recruitment into a small number of areas within the public service. I believe two important areas that need to be prioritised are speech and language therapy and orthodontic services, in particular for young people.

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